Category: South Africa

So a while back I ordered a bottle of Tree Ships’ latest 10yo Single Malt and in doing so won for myself their entire range of single malts. This particular one was quite exciting and I was not expecting it to be included in my prize, but it was.

In case you haven’t noticed by some of my more recent posts, I have been very excited about what Andy Watts & Co.have been up to at James Sedgewick distillery as of late. One of the things I was most excited about was this glorious creation. At 15 years it’s the oldest South African whisky released to date. But what makes it even more special is the finish.

I’ve given Three Ships a fair deal of attention here, and with the way that they’re going rightfully so. One of the early experiments when the parent company began to let the brand flex its muscles and stop just being a cheap local alternative to cheap Scotch Whisky, was a 2003 release of a 10 year old single malt. The popularity of this defied expectations and later on, between 2010-2012 three annual releases were made of a 10 year old single malt.

I was very lucky to be able to visit the James Sedgwick distillery a short while ago. The distillery is most known for its Three Ships Whisky, a South African whisky that has been making quite a name for itself recently in the world whisky scene. They also distill Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, a corn whisky.

The other night we went out in Tel Aviv to a wine bar with some couples we know, one thing led to another and only 2 of the guys showed up and we ended up leaving the girls at the wine bar and heading over to the Whiskey Museum, my new favourite venue. They’re not officially open yet, but are serving walk-ins as a way to make sure everything is working and get everything properly polished up. I’ve been there several times, the place can’t be beat for prices and selection (or service, atmosphere and food for that matter).

This is a special release from Three Ships, a South African whisky brand distilled at the James Sedgewick distillery in the Western Cape. This one was matured in American Oak and then finished in a cask that was treated with sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry (possibly from spain although the parent company makes a popular local ‘sherry’ as well, Sedgewick’s Old Brown).